Transcript The Homefront - Madison County Schools

The Homefront
Supporting the War Effort
Creating War Economy
• War Revenue Act (1917) – raised taxes to increase
revenue to spend on the war
• Taxes as high as 77% for some
• Increased revenue by nearly 400%
• Government also borrowed money
• Debt goes from $1.2 Billion (1916) to $25.5 Billion (1919)
• Liberty Bonds – government borrowed money from the
American people
Creating War Economy
• Boards created by Woodrow Wilson to regulate
industrial and agricultural production
• War Industries Board – headed by Bernard Baruch
• No raw materials could be used by industry unless
approved by Board
• Increased production by 20%
• Military got first choice, then whatever was leftover could
be purchased by civilians
Creating War Economy
• Food and fuel was needed for military use
• Passed Lever Food and Fuel Control Act – gave
government power to set prices and establish
production controls for food and fuel
• Food Administration – headed by Herbert Hoover
• Increase crop production
• Conserve food supply
• Started Victory Gardens – home grown vegetables
• Meatless Mondays/Wheatless Wednesdays – Civilians
would eat less of these products
Prohibition Gets Pushed
• Because it was made with crops the government
wanted it banned
• People wanted Beer banned because it was linked to
Germany
• Results:
• 18th Amendment Passed – banned manufacture, sale, or
transportation of alcohol
• Volstead Act – gave government power to enforce
prohibition
Fuel Regulation
• Fuel Administration – headed by Harry Garfield son
of former president James Garfield
• Efforts:
• Introduced daylight savings time
• Created “gasless Sundays” and “heatless Mondays”
Effects of these Efforts
• U.S. Military was quickly supplied for war effort
• Also gave much needed supplies to allies Britain and
France
• Boosted American Economy
• Became turning point of the war – as these supplies
helped tip the balance in the favor of the Americans
Worker Mobilization
• Workers saw an increase in pay, but it was cancelled out because
of increase in cost of goods
• Production was forced to be done more quickly
• Led to dangerous working conditions
• Led to long hours
• Unions made a comeback – led to more strikes
• National War Labor Board (1918) – set up by government to judge
disputes between workers and management, sought to improve
working conditions, established 8 hour workday, made industry
recognize unions, and promoted equal pay for women
Women and the War
• Women took over jobs that were traditionally for the men to do–
replaced men as they went to fight the war
• Worked in factories, on railroads, and on shipping docks
• Continued to work traditional jobs of teaching and nursing
• Branched out into selling bonds and digging victory gardens
• 1 million women entered workforce – upon end of war most of
all women gave up their jobs
• Either by choice or forced to give them up
• Women’s role led to more of push for their right to vote
Influenza Hits Home
• 1918 – 1919 – Flu epidemic strikes United States
• Spanish Influenza – started on the Western Front of the war
and was responsible for nearly half of all American
casualties of the war
• March 11, 1918 – first reported case was in from military
man in Kansas
• Epidemic spread rapidly
• Public gatherings were ended
• Schools were shut down
• By end of epidemic – more than 675,000 Americans were
dead
Gaining/Winning Popular
Support
• Committee of Public Information created in 1917
• Headed by George Creel
• Responsible for creating propaganda for the war
• Posters, newspaper stories, speeches, fliers were put together
to drum up support for war
• Hired Actors to push the cause
• Saw creation of Uncle Sam Posters
• Results:
• Led to Anti-German push – no German language taught, no
German music, no German sounding names
• German acts terrorism started taking place in America
• Led to German Americans being discriminated against
Anti-War Movement Limitted
• Espionage Act (1917) – punished people for aiding enemy or
refusing military duty
• Sedition Act (1918) – made it illegal for anyone to speak,
print, write, or publish any disloyal or abusive language to
America
• Results:
• Led to many being jailed – including famous Americans
• Led to fight for First Amendment rights of free speech
• Schneck v. United States – explained the limits to free speech
Questions
• What were all the reforms pushed to prepare the
economy for the War? What did each do?
• Why was prohibition pushed during World War I?
What was passed because of this push?
• What was done to regulate fuel?
• What impact did this regulation have on the war
effort?
Questions
• Why was the National War Labor Board created? What did it push for?
• What role did women play during the war? What impact did this have
on women in public eye?
• What was the Spanish Influenza and what impact did it have on
Americans at home and in Europe?
• What was the role of the Committee of Public Information? What
impact did it have in America?
• What acts were passed limiting anti-war sentiment?
• What was the impact of Schneck v. United States?